The two-man saw was a tool used for cutting wood before the power saw. It required two sawyers to power it and could cut through a tree trunk in minutes. There were two types of saws: the felling saw and the crosscut saw. The length of the saw varied depending on the tree being cut. The two-man saw remains popular in competitive logging demonstrations.
A two-man saw is a device used to cut wood that is powered by the force of two men or sawyers, each stationed at opposite ends of the blade. Typically consisting of a metal saw blade and wooden handles, the saw was a tool used for felling lumber before the advent of the power saw. Sharpened to a razor’s edge by expert blacksmiths, the two-man saw could cut through a standing tree trunk in minutes. The saw used a sharpening technique that allowed the saw to cut in any direction, or pull, of the saw blade. Relying on a particular pace, each man working the tool depended on the other to maintain a certain speed without pinching or bending the saw blade.
The common length of a two-man saw varied according to the type of tree being cut. For larger trees such as Northern California redwood and giant sequoia, two or more saw blades might be brazed together to create a saw long enough to reach into the massive tree. By using wedges hammered into the saw cut, loggers were able to keep the longsaws from binding or jamming. The handles of most two-man saw designs were attached so they could be easily removed, allowing the saw to be pulled out of a tree in either direction if it got stuck.
There are essentially two types of these saws, the crosscut and the felling saw. Felling saws were used by loggers to fell standing trees, while crosscut saws were used to cut trees into smaller lengths once they had been felled. They were called crosscuts as they were used to cut the grain of the tree crosswise. The crosscut blade was commonly thicker than that of a felling saw blade with the thinner blade being less prone to becoming pinched or stuck in the tree.
Images of a two-man saw can be seen in ancient Roman artwork and Chinese drawings. Saws were first used in the 1800s in North American lumber camps; however, they only began to replace tree-felling axes in the late 19th century. Though replaced by motorized chainsaws in most of the world’s bulkier areas, the two-man saw remains a staple of competitive loggers’ cutting demonstrations. Saw makers and users from all over the world come together to compete in this simple logging competition.
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